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Wednesday, 16 April 2014

It seems the Forestry Commission really like Julia Donaldson's books. Back in December they were running trails on the theme of Stick Manand now for the next five months, they are celebrating the 15th anniversary of The Gruffalowith self-lead trails through 28 forests. The trails cost £2 and contain activities to do along the way, including building an animal home and Gruffalo artwork.
You can find your nearest trail and post pictures of your creations on their Facebook page. There is a Spring related Gruffalo activity sheet and a colouring sheet to download and they have a Gruffalo Pinterest board to explore and inspire.

You can sign up to get your own party picnic pack to help celebrate The Gruffalo's birthday on 7th June when they will also be unveiling Gruffalo carvings in 15 of their forests. And the Gruffalo fun will continue in the Autumn with The Gruffalo's Child activity trails.

Don't forget to visit the Gruffalo website for online games, news and competitions.

There's also a Gruffalo Show which is currently touring the country and they also have Gruffalo printables to download.

The Gruffalois a very popular book and has inspired lots of learning activities suitable for younger children. It presents the opportunity to learn about colours and animals as well as having lots of fun making the the food mentioned. Gruffalo crumble anyone?

Here at Branch Out World, we love Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's work. Pop over to Currclick and check out Picture Book Explorers - Tabby McTat. This literature based unit study includes author and illustrator studies along with cross-curricular educational activities. The printable maps, timeline, activity sheets and mini-books are complemented by a selection of hands-on crafts, science experiments and recipes to make this a complete and well-rounded topic pack.

*These images contain affiliate links. All money raised through using these links is going to help two of our local scouts get to the 2015 Scout Jamboree in Japan. It will not cost you anything extra :)

Thursday, 3 April 2014

The ninth Picture Book Explorers guide went on sale last night. Again, I have learnt so much while creating this file. For instance, I didn't know that the American version had totally different name - David and Dog. It's a story with which I am very familiar as The Girl loved it when she was tiny. She would role play the story quite often - even down to washing her favourite soft toy in a bowl of warm soapy water and hanging it on the washing line, by its tail, to dry.
I never thought of it as being "quintessentially English", as Shirley Hughes describes it, but I did get a sense of nostalgia as I recognised fashions and pushchairs from my own childhood. It's a lovely story, and as Boykin pointed out, it shows brothers and sisters who are friends rather than siblings who are constantly bickering or trying to get one up on each other.
I hope your family enjoys the activities as much as my children did. We learnt the science behind how soap works, held our own family summer fair (in early Spring) and enjoyed eating sticky buns while listening to the story for the last time last week.
Where will the story take you with the discussions that arise from it? How will the suggested activities lead you into further learning adventures so personal to your family?

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About Me

Welcome! We’re a home educating family based in West Yorkshire. I started home educating my eldest son over 20 years ago. In that time, I had 2 more children who have never been to school and I gained a Certificate of Mathematics and a BSc Honours with the Open University. As a family, we love books and we’re looking forward to sharing that love with you.
Our unit studies and lapbooks are designed to give you anywhere from a week to six month's worth of activity based learning that you can tailor to your child's needs. The unit studies can be used with all your children simultaneously, or you can use them again and again as your children grow into them.
The chosen books all have a link to the UK, whether it's the setting, the author or the illustrator.
We are happy to take suggestions of new picture books to explore and new lapbooks to build.

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